How to Start a Cottage Industry

If you want to know how to start a cottage industry, it's most likely because you are one of the millions of people that has lost their job due to the economic collapse. Perhaps you are only curious to know how to start a cottage industry because you've always wanted to have your own business at home doing something you love. In either case, this article will explore the basic steps for starting a cottage industry.

Difficulty:

Moderate

Instructions

1. Decide what products or services you will provide. A cottage industry is a business where the production of goods or services is home-based. Make a list and write down everything you are good at and what things you are good at making. If your list comes up short you may also want to include thing you're interested in that you could learn how to do. Go through the list and consider the implications of making those items or providing that service. How much time will it take? How much will it cost? How much competition might I have? As you're doing research on different ideas, be sure to keep a notebook of any resources you come across or ideas you have. These will come in handy later.

2. Once you've decided on what your cottage industry will provide, you need to do research into the laws surrounding that type of industry. Research both state and federal home based business laws and zoning requirements. See the resources section below for a website to help with this. The laws could differ significantly depending on what your cottage industry will be providing.

3. After you decide on the product or service for your modern cottage industry and researched the laws surrounding it, you need to decide on a name and image. Think about your target audience when you are choosing. Who are you marketing to? How do you want your business to appear? Consider packaging, labeling, logo and tagline. Keep various notes on your thoughts as you may change your mind several times after your business is up and running. Once you have a name for your cottage industry, you will need to file for a fictitious business name in accordance with the laws of your state.

4. Create a website for your business. Previous to the rise of the internet, most cottage industries promoted their businesses at craft fairs, church events and basic word of mouth. Now, we have modern cottage industries that sell through websites. This is probably the best way to get more exposure. It can be your own domain, or a sub-domain on a larger site like ebay, etsy, or artfire.

5. Promote your website to make it successful. There are literally a hundred ways you can do this. The thing to keep in mind is to find a target audience and advertise to them specifically. The most beneficial way to do this is to look for other blogs or websites that fit into your niche. Oftentimes, these sites are happy to run a feature post or page on businesses and products that fit in their niche. See the resource section below for more detail.

Tips & Warnings

• Research your competition by doing searches for blogs and websites that may already be selling similar products or services as yours.

• Continue to promote "the old fashioned way" with business cards, work of mouth, craft fairs, etc.

• Set a work schedule and stick to it. It's easy to get off track working too much or too little at home.

• Make a list of goals for your business and refer to them each month to see if you're on track.

• Don't be afraid to change your home-based business over time. As you get a feel for the market, you may need to tweak a few things.

Resources

• Discover Modern Cottage Industry
• Home Based Business Government Resource